What else can I call it? Reflections by this INTP expat translator, researcher, cook and software developer living in Spain, mostly Madrid. This is mostly about the little things I think and do, which are quite diverse, but which otherwise nobody would know about.

Sunday, 21 October 2007

Floods in Calpe

When the phone rang at nine o'clock I was asleep in bed blissfully unaware of what was happening a few floors below. When I went out onto the balcony I was more than slightly surprised to see water gushing down the side road and into the sea, washing away the sand and the beach furniture built on it.

Rather than receding, the water level continued to rise until the promenade was under water all the length of the building and was washing over the low wall.

As we couldn't get out of the building we stayed in and started rationing the little food we'd taken with us in the car.

Water and mud had flowed into the back of the building and out through the ground floor restaurants. A short circuit started a fire in the electrical meters on the ground floor and caused a small fire. The fire brigade came but couldn't put it out and we were without power (and lifts) for the rest of the weekend. On Saturday afternoon we put on short trousers and sandals and waded out to get some dinner. the restaurants were shovelling and pumping out mud. That was the moment we saw the devastation in the rest of the town which we hadn't seen until then because there was no television.

To finish off the weekend nicely we were woken at six in the morning on Sunday by a small earthquake that shook the building and rattled the glass.